2015 Nov 5. [Epub ahead of print]
Perception and the strongest sensory memory trace of multi-stable displays both form shortly after the stimulus onset.
Pastukhov A1,2,3.
Author information
Abstract
We investigated the relation between perception and sensory memory of multi-stable structure-from-motion displays. The latter is an implicit visual memory that reflects a recent history of perceptual dominance and influences only the initial perception of multi-stable displays. First, we established the earliest time point when the direction of an illusory rotation can be reversed after the display onset (29-114 ms). Because our display manipulation did not bias perception towards a specific direction of illusory rotation but only signaled the change in motion, this means that the perceptual dominance was established no later than 29-114 ms after the stimulus onset. Second, we used orientation-selectivity of sensory memory to establish which display orientation produced the strongest memory trace and when this orientation was presented during the preceding prime interval (80-140 ms). Surprisingly, both estimates point towards the time interval immediately after the display onset, indicating that both perception and sensory memory form at approximately the same time. This suggests a tighter integration between perception and sensory memory than previously thought, warrants a reconsideration of its role in visual perception, and indicates that sensory memory could be a unique behavioral correlate of the earlier perceptual inference that can be studied post hoc.
KEYWORDS:
Implicit visual memory; Kinetic-depth effect; Multi-stable perception; Perceptual inference; Perceptual memory; Sensory memory; Structure-from-motion
PMID: 26542402 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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